Memory systems, such as solid-state drives, can comprise a plurality of non-volatile memory dies (e.g., NAND memory dies), which can be accessed in parallel to increase write and/or read performance of the memory system. However, the memory dies have a maximum temperature limit, and when the temperature of a memory die exceeds its maximum temperature limit, charge in the transistors of the memory die can leak out, creating data retention issues. The temperature of a memory die can be sensed by an external temperature sensor placed in the vicinity of the memory die that is expected to be the hottest (e.g., the memory die that is located nearest to the DRAM). When the memory die nears its temperature limit (e.g., 90 C.), the memory system can perform thermal throttling to slow down the entire memory system by limiting the number of memory accesses (writes and/or reads) per time unit for all the memory dies, which limits the amount of dissipated power. By basing the throttling decision off of what is expected to be the hottest memory die, the memory system can help ensure that none of the memory dies will overheat.